Friday, March 13, 2015

Today is my anniversary. 30 years. No, not of wedded bliss, but the anniversary of a dream come true. I've wanted to be a professional actor for as long as I can remember and on March 13, 1985, I moved from Queens, New York to Inglewood, California to pursue that dream. I had about $400. in my pocket, no job and no car. My first job application was at Universal Studios to become a tour guide. I would be sitting in the front of a tram full of tourists with a microphone in hand pointing out designated highlights of the back lot while sharing interesting stories of movie making magic. I went through the week long in-class training program and on the day of the "final" we were to give a mock tour on the tram to our fellow students and instructors. Once everyone had finished, we gathered in front of the classroom and was told that that if our name was called we would go back inside to fill out the paperwork for our new job. If our name was not called, we were to stay outside. One by one I watched my classmates cheerfully enter the building until the last words I remember were along the lines of, "Thank you very much, you can go now." I stood in front of the door devastated and oblivious to the others standing there with me. At the time I was taking the bus from Inglewood to Universal, so I slowly walked to the bus stop with tears in my eyes, got on the bus, let the tears flow and cried all the the way home.

Cut to: March 13, 2015This morning I drove onto the Universal lot, parked in my designated parking spot outside of the sound stage where I began rehearsals for my very first job as a series regular actress on a TV pilot written by the creator of Hot In Cleveland. Every seven minutes a tram full of tourists pass by my car close enough that if the driver veered off just a little, he would scratch it. As it approaches, I can hear the tour guides on their microphones reciting the script that I learned 30 years ago. Every seven minutes I'm reminded of how far I've come, how many times I've wanted to give up and how blessed I am for each and every step that I took to arrive at this magical place in my life and career. Today I cry tears of joy not tears of disappointment.

I wanted to share all of this with you not to brag, but to inspire and to express deep gratitude. I don't take any of my successes for granted. I've worked hard, stayed dedicated and have built amazing relationships in the 30 years that I have lived and worked here in "Hollywood". To anyone who has a dream I encourage you to never give up. And to anyone who has been following me as Stage Goddess, you already know my six favorite words: Be A Star Where You Are.